SRK to be brand ambassador of XXX Energy Drinks by next year

NEW DELHI: JMJ Group firm XXX Energy Drinks Limited today said it plans to rope in Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador of its products as it embarks on a Rs 100 crore expansion plan by next year.

The company, which is looking to garner a sales of Rs 100 crore from the brand by 2015, said it is looking to set up its first production facility for which it is scouting for location.

"We are in talks to get Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador... We will officially announce in March or April next year," JMJ Group Vice Chairman Sachin Joshi said.

Earlier this year, the brand has been associated with Khan's IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as its principal sponsor.

He, however, did not give further financial details on the contract and the time frame of it.

The company said it is looking at setting up its first facility, planning to introduce more brands in the near future, besides expanding its presence in the overseas markets by next year.

"To set up a manufacturing facility, we need to do a substantial business first. By 2012, hopefully we would start setting up a plant, which could entail an investment of USD 10 million (Rs 45 crore)," he said, adding that the capacity of the plant will be around three million cans a month.

It could be either in Pune or Dubai, where it currently manufactures its products through third party, he added.

Besides, the company is also introducing products at price points between Rs 25-30 as part of its plan to tap into the mass market and expand its presence into the smaller cities.

"We will be launching one more brand soon. One of the main reason for the slow growth of energy drinks in India is the high price. So we are looking at introducing an brand which could cost around Rs 25-30," he said.

At present, the firm sells four brands -- XXX, Rejuve, Nicofix and Minus in India and abroad.

On expanding its international presence the company said it is looking at taking to products to around 14 countries across the globe, including UK, African countries and Singapore by the end of 2010.

"We will also be increasing our marketing spend to USD 10 million (Rs 45 crore) from USD 8 (Rs 36 crore) million by next year. We are tying up with a lot of events as part of our marketing activities," he said.